The book of deaths
by autobotgirl12328
Summary: After finding a mysterious book that tunes into his ghost powers, Danny learns things he never thought was possible. Why is all this so accurate and who's the author?
1. Found

The book of deaths

Chapter 1: found

"Danny, I'm sure it's nothing," reassured Tucker.

"Stupid school book report," Danny grumbled.

"I'm sure, it'll turn out again. All you need is a good book," Sam smiled.

"That would mean going to the library…reading a book means I'd need time to spare…" Danny grumbled, "Unfortunately I don't have the time! I have to fight ghosts, don't you forget that!"

"Why don't you find a book about ghosts?" offered Tucker.

"Makes sense," agreed Sam.

"Like there'll be good ghost books," mumbled Danny.

"We'll all go to the library, right now," Sam chuckled, motioning to the large library.

"Not now," groaned Danny, slouching.

Sam and Tucker took Danny by the arms and pulled him into the library. The building was lined with books old and new. Danny mumbled to himself. Sam smiled lightly as she continued holding onto Danny's arm. Tucker let go, looking around at the side genres. Danny pulled out of Sam.

"Hey, in the back there is a section marked horror. Don't ghost books usually hang out around there?" Tucker explained.

"Fine, a glance. Nothing good, I'm leaving," nodded Danny, marching toward the section.

Sam and Tucker, smiled at one another, marching after Danny. They, eventually, reached the horror section. Together, the three looked at the few books resting on the shelves. Danny groaned, not enjoying this. He thought it only as a waste of time. He kicked the wall. Something shifted. He looked over at the small book shelf near the corner. Only one book rested on the worn wooden shelf.

"What's this?" Danny whispered, lifting the shelf.

The cover was brown and scarred from time. The title was unable to be read. Danny turned it over, there was nothing written on the back though only more scars. He flipped the pages. They were handwritten in neat cursive. Each chapter was separated with a name. Danny smiled, closing the back.

"Find a good one?" Tucker asked, snatching the book.

"Sort of. It's got no title," shrugged Danny, snatching it back.

"Read the first page," offered Sam, leaning over Danny shoulder.

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, leaning over the other shoulder.

Danny flipped to the very first page. The page was blank. Danny gave a confused look. Suddenly the book glowed a dim green. He felt a change. He looked down. He was in his Danny Phantom custom. Sam and Tucker had backed up slightly. Danny glanced at them a quick moment then returned to the book. There the title was written in neat, black, cursive.

"How'd that happen?" Danny gasped.

"What's it called?" Sam asked.

Danny reread the title, still uncertain of the title or of this book entirely. The title faded as he returned to usual clothes. He groaned, closing the book. He turned around to face Tucker and Sam.

"Well?" Tucker huffed.

"The title disappeared again. I think it was called…" Danny paused a moment, "The book of deaths."

"Deaths as in plural," Tucker questioned.

"Yes," Danny nodded.

"Weird," mumbled Sam.

"I'm checking it out!" Danny cheered, "I think it's linked to the ghost zone."

"Alright, but the second trouble comes out of it, you destroy it," ordered Sam.

"Promise," Danny smirked, still concentrating on the book in his hands.

The book, though, was much more than it seemed. Or was it exactly what it was?


	2. Stephen Track

The book of deaths

Chapter 2: Stephen Track

"Danny, are you sure that you should have that book in the first place?" Sam asked.

Danny sat at the lunch table about to start the book of deaths. He looked up Sam. She looked worried. Tucker also gave a concerned look. Danny frowned, setting the book down. He pushed it into the middle of the table. The three glanced at the book.

"Have you started it?" questioned Tucker.

"Not yet," reassured Danny, reaching for the book.

"No!" hissed Sam, snatching the book.

"It's my book report book! I have to read it," snapped Danny, snatching the book back.

"We'll all read it," offered Tucker.

"Fine," Sam groaned, sitting down. "Read it out loud."

"Alright," grumbled Danny, opening the book to the first channel.

The first page was titled Stephen Track. Danny started reading but one glance at Sam made him begin to read out loud as she requested.

"Stephen Track," Danny read.

He continued reading through. This guy, Stephen Track, lived in Pennsylvania. He hunted deer there. He had no family beside his son who died in December. Stephen went hunting the next month. While chasing after a deer, was crushed by a fallen tree. Most of his limbs were broken and disfigured beyond recognition.

"Wow…" whispered Danny, finishing the reading.

"That's sad," mumbled Sam.

"Why did they mention him?" Tucker asked.

"It's a sad story…why is this book in the horror section?" snapped Danny, flipping to the next page.

A picture fell from the book. Danny leaned down, picking the picture off the ground. It was a tall man beside a tree with a rifle. He had short brown hair matching his deep brown eyes. He wore a grey bullet holding sash. His large black boots went up to his knees. Danny looked deep into the frown of the hunter. Danny knew he looked familiar but different. Somehow.

"He seems familiar," mumbled Danny, showing the picture to his friends.

"A hunter?" Tucker mumbled.

"Yeah," Danny nodded.

"The only hunter you know is Skulker," Sam stated.

The group shared a startled shutter. Danny put the picture back in the book, slamming it shut. Suddenly a puff of blue smoke slipped from his mouth. He looked around. The students were enjoying their lunch in the sunny outdoors. He looked up. Nothing. What was that about? Suddenly the table exploded, sending the book into the air. Sam and Tucker fell back, staring up at the flaming table.

"Cover me," ordered Danny, standing tall and fists curled.

The two stood in front of him. The students shrieked and wailed, running away quickly and hastily as a tree nearby exploded. Sam and Tucker glanced around, making sure no one was watching Danny's transformation behind them.

"I'm going ghost!" In a flash of light, Danny became his Phantom form. Danny looked up.

"Speaking of the hunter," he hissed, looking up to see Skulker himself standing on top the building.

Danny quickly dodged another explosion from one of Skulker's rockets. Skulker slowly landed on the ground. Danny smirked, ready for another fight. Another blue smoke escaped his lips. He looked around. Looking down, he noticed the book resting beside him. He reached down. As his hand touched it, he felt sudden jolt run up his arms. He dropped it, watching the fluttering of a photo drop out. It was of that hunter, Stephen Track.

"You are mine, ghost child!" Skulker proclaimed, standing before Danny all of a sudden.

Skulker paused in mid punch, his focus downward. His arm relaxed with the rest of his body. His smirking smile of success faded as he dropped his hand down. Danny watched him pick up the fallen photo. Skulker frowned, bringing the photo to eye level. He sighed. Suddenly the ghost hunter was gone. Danny gasped, quietly, releasing another blue puff.

After making sure no one was around, he transformed back to his school clothes. Sam and Tucker rushed over as Danny lifted the book.

"So what happened?" tucker asked.

"I'm going to guess this but…" Danny. "I hope I'm wrong."

"Why'd he leave?" Tucker questioned, changing the question at hand.

"Again that refers to the first question. I had dropped the book and the photo fell out. Skulker picked it up, looking completely…sad and left," Danny explained.

"You don't think that…" Sam began.

"That's what I hoped I was wrong about," Danny groaned.

"What!?" gasped Tucker.

"What if Stephen Track…" Danny mumbled, "Was Skulker in his human life?"


	3. Nicolai

The book of deaths

Chapter 3: Nicolai

"This is impossible!"

Danny, Tucker and Sam sat in Danny's bedroom with the book resting in the center. The book had a dim green glow on it. The entire Skulker being Stephen Track thing was confusing and yet expected.

"So the book has the way the ghosts became ghosts?" mumbled Tucker.

"I guess. We haven't read far enough to understand if it lists all of them. I mean there are a lot of ghosts in the ghost zone," Danny noted.

"He has a point but the whole Skulker and the picture thing is kinda crazy," Sam added.

"Maybe we should read the next chapter…" Danny offered. "Or the last?"

"I think we should get rid of it!" Tucker grumbled.

"I think we should read the next chapter," reassured Sam.

Danny reached for the book, pulling it onto the bed. He flipped to the next chapter. A picture was pasted in beside the title. Instead of having the first and last name of the person, only the first name was stated. Nicolai. The last name was crossed out with much more than black ink. It looked almost as if someone burnt and tore at it out of anger. If this did represent a current ghost's past human life, they sure didn't like the way they left.

"It only says Nicolai," Danny stated, quietly. "The last name's crossed out."

"Just keep going!" ordered Sam.

"How'd he die?" Tucker questioned.

Danny kept reading aloud for his friends to hear. Nicolai was once an egotistical technological genius. He worked for a millionaire who built technology in a factory. He worked with a young man who had been working five years longer than Nicolai. Nicolai, though, had built twice as many inventions and research. Right when Nicolai was about to get promoted, he was murdered. No one had found out who. They only found out that he'd been working on new biotechnology and that he'd been murdered by the same technology.

"So…which ghost does that sound like?" Danny joked, closing the book once more.

"Technus?" Tucker offered.

"Sure, sounds like it," Sam agreed.

"I never would have imagined Technus being murdered. I always pictured…on second though I never pictured any of the villain ghosts' death," Danny sighed, throwing the book onto the floor.

"Now, you think Technus will show up?" Tucker joked, looking around.

"Well he hasn't yet," Danny pointed out.

"Well, Skulker took awhile," Sam added.

"Wait for it…" Danny chuckled.

After a moment of silence, Tucker's PDA beeped. He pulled it out. The screen was fuzzy till finally showing Technus. Technus smiled, exiting the PDA. Tucker groaned.

"I really need to fix that," he mumbled.

"I am Technus!" the ghost recited.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know that," Danny grumbled, transforming into his ghost form.

"Something's wrong here," Technus grumbled, not making eye contact with the Phantom.

"Huh?" Danny questioned, relaxing.

"That book!"

Danny looked down at the book. Technus looked angrily at the fallen book. Technus leaned over, snatching the book off the ground. His grip tightened, bending the book.

"How'd you get this!?" Technus hissed, twisting around.

"I found it in the library…why?" gasped Danny, reaching for it.

"This book is trouble," Technus dropped it.

Technus looked ready to tear Danny apart. Danny took a glance back. Sam and Tucker were slowly stepping backward. Sam had the book in her hand. Danny stood on his bed, awaiting for Technus to attack. Danny watched Technus edged closer, and then paused. He remembered the book. The scratched out last name.

"Nicolai…?" Danny questioned, shielding his eyes as Technus raised his fist.

"What?" Technus questioned, stopping just like Skulker had.

"I read the…well some of…the book," explained Danny.

"You shouldn't have. That book belongs in the ghost zone," Technus argued.

"Well, it was in the library. I also read the first chapter," Danny added. "The one about Skulker."

"This book was never supposed to be found!" Technus hissed. "But, I cannot take it."

"Wait, what?" Danny gasped.

"For now…" Technus spun around, swiping Tucker's PDA. He waved it triumphantly.

"Hey!" gasped Tucker, angrily.

"Farewell, ghost child," Technus smiled. "And good luck."

With that, the old ghost villain vanished. In a flash, Danny turned into his usual get up. Tucker was still fuming about his stolen PDA, when the door was thrown open. Jazz came in, followed by Jack and Maddie. Danny jumped down, sitting on his bed casually. Sam and Tucker faked a smile.

"What's going on in here?" Maddie snapped, raising a ghost rifle.

"Is there a ghost? I thought I heard a ghost!" gasped Jake, raising his bazooka.

"I'm sure, everything's alright. See, they're just studying. There's nothing wrong," Jazz stuttered.

"You three okay?" questioned Maddie, lowering the rifle.

"We're fine, mom," Danny reassured.

"Alright. Have fun, sweetie," Maddie smiled, closing the door after the exit of the others also.

The three glanced at each other. The book still sat in Sam's hands. Her hands were shaking. She dropped it. Tucker scooted away from it. Danny peered over the bed, watching the eerie glow of the book shimmer.

"What'd he mean by 'good luck'?" Danny whispered.

"I don't know and I don't think I want to," responded Sam, glancing away from the paperback.

The silence echoed. Danny glanced away also. He was beginning to rethink this entire matter. Somehow, Technus sounded afraid. Skulker seemed sad. It seemed this book was never supposed to be read.


End file.
